Canadian Reviews and Giveaways plus excerpts from my life as a Mom.

Here is a nifty new piece of kids tech that you've likely not heard of yet. It's the future of Apple apps and it's called "Augmented Reality".

I had the chance to review several sets of i3D interactive cards from Cypher Kids Club and I have to say they are pretty darn neat. There are three different sets of cards available, Letters, Numbers and Wild Animal Adventures. The cards work together with your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad to give your kids an interactive learning experience.

Here's how it works:

Step 1. Go out and buy a set of cards (They retail for $14.99 and are available at select Walmart stores across Canada).

Step 2. Download the corresponding free app from the Apple App Store. Warning: The app is a pretty large file and took about five minutes to download. You might want to do this ahead of time to avoid antsy kids driving you bats while you wait for it to download.

Step 3. While the app is downloading open your pack of cards and check them out. The flash cards themselves are fantastic. My kids enjoyed flipping through them and having me read parts to them, They have engaging images and text. They also look to be very durable, as they are printed on good thick card stock.

Step 4. Open the app, choose the card you want to interact with, and hold the camera on your i-device about 12 inches or so away from the card.

Step 6. Pan around with the camera. Enjoy checking out the augmented reality show superimposed over top of the live image feed from your camera.

Pros:
Oh my goodness, what a cool piece of tech this is! My kids loved playing with these learning cards. They enjoy playing with the cards on their own and they are absolutely crazy about the app. The cards themselves are physically impressive. They are very well made and should last well.

Cons:
The suggested age range is 3 and up. While both my 2 year old and my 5 year old loved playing with this interactive app I had to be on hand to help them. They needed me to scan the cards and hold the iPad. I walked my five year old through it and she understood how to use the cards, but she found holding the iPad 12 inches off the ground unwieldy. She complained it was too heavy and kept asking me to hold it for her instead. While I love getting down on the ground and playing with my kids I already know my ABCs and I would be much happier with these cards if they were a hand them over and let the kids play on their own sort of thing. I am guessing this problem, of the large somewhat awkward and heavy tablet, wouldn't happen if you were using an iPod Touch or a iPhone. Or if a slightly older kid were at the helm.

Overall:
I would definitely recommend these i3D interactive flash cards. I think this augmented reality thing is cutting edge and we'll likely be seeing more creative apps heading in this direction. The suggested age is 3 and Up but I could easily see 7 or 8 year olds enjoying playing with these cards, particularly the Wild Animal Adventures set. Pick up a set and check them out! They retail for $14.99 and are available at select Walmarts across Canada.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias Social Fabric Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and Cypher Kids Club #CBias #SocialFabric. As always my words and opinions are my own.